Amongst the maze of thread locking I hoped to attempt to make a point about kids teams in Bristol, why they need support, and why that support should be encouraged. I will not reveal who I am involved with, but we base our tuition of kids on the teachings of Simon Clifford's Brazilian soccer schools. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GV8tHLIzVE&list=PL31ECC2F5C259EE5A The results we are getting are kids by the ages of six and seven being able to perform skills most adults cannot. The technique of these kids who do apply themselves is vastly superior to that of their peers, who are not being schooled in the same manner. At present in Bristol and indeed all over the UK there is a skills gap. A skills gap in the ability of coaches. Coaches many in charge of kids teams are not. Well meaning parents are not coaches, and we/us/them can inadvertently hinder the football development of the children we attempt to help without clear structured direction. German and Spanish kids do not get that good by accident. They use bases similar to the one above. They use coaches such as this one from a very early age http://www.youtube.com/user/FootballSkillsCoach/videos Check the kit he is wearing. City are catching up, but it is like the little boy with his finger in the dyke. Club after club in Bristol have no coaches for their children. Coaching below six is rare. It is not in Spain. Chuck a tenner to the community trust, chat to the coaches if you meet them, encourage clubs attempting to get kids to PLAY, and yes maybe do your own fund raiser. It can matter. It does matter. Your kids, our children are worth it. By broadening these activities you could attract more kids into the BCFC family. Imagine Jermaine Emmanuelle Thomas demonstrating some of the skills at your sons school. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTSHbvgbQ2g Imagine Bristol City skills challenges for kids. kids practising skills they see their err "heroes" performing on the Saturday. A bit of interest in your local kids side and what goes on beyond Sean O'driscoll not doing an interview, or doing, or not doing an interview correctly can go a long way.
great thread the young ones at that ages is your futures fan base. get them on board now before they start wearing man utd, chelsea and arsenal shirts. if players can attend schools ect then they be with you for life. nice one
I have no idea about kids football, my lad played rugby and my girls were swimmers so I am not in a position to pass comment on the state of coaching. I know I was sh!te but tried hard and loved it playing 3 competitive games a week for my village and college. However whilst in spain earlier this year I was watching a bunch of spanish lads between the ages of 8 and 10 playing footy on the beach. The skills they had were scary for kids so young. Made me think we have got so much to do to be competitive
and thats not just to be competitive in our local area, thats competitive internationally. england are light years behind spain and germany etc.
Great thread and like I have said all along, I wish everyone who run these sort of things all the best of luck. Things got out of control for reasons im still not 100% on but hopefully things can get back on track and we can get back to talking about BCFC and other things of interest
I will answer with respect this part of the post. As a nation, as a City, as a club ... We should start coaching children before they are old enough to play in a team. In one of those clips the teens involved started coaching courses at walking age playing games designed to start defining techniques. That is normal in Europe, it is not in England. What I do alongside my son and his team mates ... It is a drop in the ocean. I see kids at other teams barely able to trap a football. Abroad they coax it with five parts of the foot. A reason why we as a nation have fallen behind is because we have left things to parents. Can fans make a difference there? Yes. Can BCFC do better? Yes. Encourage all is the start.
Gary Linekar was also right about the mentality of parents and coaches at a youth level. I remember being ten, and having coaches swear at the players, embarrassing them in front of their friends, and parents fighting and shouting abuse at every opportunity, usually after a few cans (brought with them, of course). I used to play a ton of youth football, and got quite good at it, but the older/better I got the less fun it became. Kids need to be introduced at a younger age, but more than anything else we need to make football fun for children, and we need to foster their environment. I reckon that over the years we've lost a ridiculous amount of talent due to poor environments.
I don't know if it's the same (Simon Clifford's) Brazilian soccer schools, if not something very similar and I used to know the guys that ran it.......but if not that one, then another Brazilian soccer school in Bristol has been going for years (12-15) because they used to go around junior schools (my son attended them) so nothing new! Part of the problem is we have too many competitive leagues in and around Bristol and it's all about the winning and not the development of young players.. I've also seen Spanish & Italian youngsters kicking around on the beach, developing skills and enjoying it without the pressure, seems their culture towards football when young is quite different from here. Some things you can't teach, they develop themselves (George Best example) some just need pointing in the right direction, as flair type players get slaughtered for being greedy and not passing or doing the simple things so they end up like any other typical player....
BSS has ceased to exist in Bristol as part of the BSS franchise. Did the person running Brazilian Soccer school in Bristol have the initials MW? He has set up his own coaching school which is operating in various destinations in Bristol. My opinion, and that of parents is that MW has improved upon what was previously in place. It isn't for every kid though. The Spanish have a different mindset, unfortunately due to the FA/EPL in this country that philosophy cannot be employed in the UK unless somebody spirits 20000 coaches out of thin air and places them in infant, primary and kids teams for free. Parents too often will look at the winning as being superior to the actual learning. Spanish coaches work to national standards, learn to play and the success will come later.
I'm desperately trying to remember their names Cliftonville...ahhh on the tip of my tongue! One of them signed on for a season for a team that I ran about nine years ago. I thought the idea at the time was a great one, but like we have all said, there was too much emphasis on winning rather technique (still is) that stopped the talented players coming through. I will remember the names....I will get back to you! Edited......one of them was Ricky B..., can't remember the other
They anything to do with Almondsbury youth now? The soccer school that replaced BSS coaches kids to nine, it is all about technique. A drawback is that there is only x amount of it, it costs and when kids go elsewhere, or don't practice they learn bad habits. That is the skills gap I mention. The teams I am involved with there is little emphasis placed on winning. Short, tall, fast, strong or otherwise learn to play. They are children not adults. Parents do not always get this. The attitude put forward is "don't join the orchestra till you can play an instrument".
Not hard some of that ... Could be good. Mr S-O-D could provide analysis of the goal conceded at Port Vale to highlight to ankle biters WHAT NOT TO DO. "THIS is the WRONG option" "AND that one" "AND that" "THIS is the WRONG process" "THIS IS THE WRONG OUTCOME!" Aden Flint could have his own heading clip "Come heading with Aden". Kilkenny could do something, anything ... Take a five a six year olds training session. Video with the kids he won't intimidate them, he IS the right height ... He has nothing else to do. J E Thomas clip would be called "leave it yeah". All about what to do when attacking and "leave it yeah" to somebody else when defending.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-QWbU_Gaq8 First goal. Little step over skill. Video it on the training pitch, slow and break it down to highlight how it is done for children. Put it out via social media. Create a series of skills for under nines to perform and give them a BCFC certificate if they can complete them at the ground e.g Hireite building.
Probably the bloke next to I who screams "WTF R U DOIN CITEE" too often. Can I be excused a teensy rewrite. Gotta gig for Kilkenny? Directing traffic at an airport?
Not sure what they do now, not heard from them for a while.. It's when they go elsewhere is the problem as most team managers or parents don't understand development. It needs to change right across the board for it to work. Good for you that you use your time and energy and I expect money, teaching it the right way.
I have seen a lad after ONE training session elsewhere comeback and play utterly differently going from passing with his instep to toe punts. A reason amongst others why I would like to see national skills awards for clubs and schools [kids 5 and upwards] based on technique, which move onto more advanced skills. These skills awards would also give coaches/trainers/ parents a framework to work within. Bristol City themselves could do the above.
